‘We Must Deport More and Faster’: Germany’s Scholz To Crack Down On Illegal Migration

In the wake of an influx of refugees seeking sanctuary in Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made a definitive stance, calling for stricter deportation measures and robust border controls at the EU’s borders as the country grapples with a deportation dilemma.

The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz showed a clear perspective on the issue of illegal migration in a recent interview with a local news source. He pressed for the deportation of migrants who had no right to stay in Germany, emphasizing the need to boost European border controls. He reiterated the need to limit the surge of illegal migrants on German soil.

Chancellor Scholz’s stance leans towards reducing refugee numbers and a more stringent approach towards denying asylum seekers.

“We must finally deport en masse those who have no right to remain in Germany …Those who have no prospect of remaining in Germany because they cannot claim asylum must return … We must deport more and faster,” Scholz said.

The Chancellor has so far set down a more stringent approach towards illegal migration, according to which only refugees with legitimate claims are entitled to asylum.

At the same time, recognizing the vital need for immigrant labor, Germany’s reliance on skilled workers remains a distinct consideration.

“Those who do not belong to one or the other group cannot stay with us,” Scholz noted.

The leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party further indicated a desire to consider suggestions from the federal states to deter illegal migration. Scholz affirmed that the federal government would back such initiatives if states opt for in-kind benefits over monetary support, propose an asylum seeker payment card or extend public works opportunities.

The Situation on Migrants in Germany

The European Asylum Agency’s latest data reveals that Germany shoulders about a third of asylum applications within the European Union.

As of August 2023, Germany’s Federal Interior Ministry said there were around 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees seeking refuge in Germany. The reason for this rise in Ukrainian refugees is the explicit support the Scholz government has given to NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has grappled with a significant influx, with more than 200,000 asylum applications pouring in from all sorts of nations this year, marking a substantial 77 percent increase compared with the corresponding period a year before.

As of June 2023, Germany had approximately 44,500 recognized asylum-seekers, primarily from Turkiye, Syria, and Iran.

Furthermore, roughly 755,000 individuals with refugee status under the Geneva Convention, predominantly hailing from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Nearly 280,000 foreigners in Germany are designated for departure, with roughly half of them asylum seekers who have been rejected. Many hold “temporary toleration” status because of life-threatening situations in their home country or unresolved health issues that prevent deportation.

According to a German media outlet, Germany is in a terrible quandary, involving 95,000 individuals whose citizenship status remains elusive, rendering them without a clear destination for legal deportation.

As June drew to a close, Germany had identified 54,330 individuals who were immediately deportable. Despite the government’s emphasis on a repatriation program, the actual deportations totaled only approximately 13,000 in 2022. This number continued to decrease in the first half of 2023, falling to a mere 7,861.